Curran's goal ended more than 63 minutes of physical, back-and-forth action and gave Greenwich a dramatic 8-7 quadruple overtime triumph over Ridgefield in an early season regular season matchup that had a postseason game feel to it.

Patiently moving the ball around the perimeter while seeking an open shot, the Cardinals tallied the goal both squads worked almost 16 overtime minutes for, courtesy of Curran. Receiving a pass from senior attack Jamie Paradise near the crease, Curran quickly snapped a low shot past Tigers goalie Brendan Winne for the game-winner. Then it was celebration time, as the Cardinals stormed the field.

"Jamie Paradise sent a bullet to me right across the crease, I couldn't have asked for a better pass," Curran said. "I was just able to finish it. I've never had an overtime winner in my life, so this feels awesome."

Curran and senior attack Luke Finneran each recorded two goals and two assists, while attackman Bobby Goggin scored twice for Greenwich (3-0). The Cardinals received an outstanding performance from junior goalie Tommy Rogan, who rescued the team from defeat with several impressive saves over the course of the four overtime periods -- and a strong defensive effort.

"Kudos to Ridgefield, they are a really good, well-coached team," GHS coach Scott Bulkley said. "Both teams played hard, we almost played two games today. It's too bad somebody had to lose that game, but I feel good for our guys. We have worked really hard and some of the stuff we've been preaching to the team came true."

Ridgefield (2-1) was paced offensively by senior Dylan Maher, who scored two goals and junior Simon Mathias (one goal, one assist). Midfielder/faceoff specialist Matt Philbin won 16 faceoffs for the Tigers, who also saw its defenders rise to the occasion.

"We won the defensive battle and the faceoff battle, but we were terrible on offense," said Tigers coach Roy Colsey, who also received goals from Nick Esemplare, Will Bonaparte, Sam Boehle and Dan Ohrem. "Going to quadruple overtime is well and good, but we had so many more chances to score and didn't get the job done. I know their defense is part of it -- Greenwich has one of the best defensive groups in the state -- but when you get opportunities, you have to make some of them count."

The game, a rematch of last season's FCIAC Tournament semifinals won by Greenwich 6-5, seemed destined to enter a fifth overtime period, as GHS continued to search for an open look with under one minute remaining. Then Paradise found Curran, who was open for a second.

"I was at the crease and it was a little bit scary when I got the ball, but I knew I had to do my job," Curran said. "Jamie Paradise, Ryan Flippin, Kyle Foote -- our whole attack stepped up and came to play."

Ridgefield had two man-up opportunities during the third four-minute overtime, but didn't capitalize. Rogan made a save on a shot off the stick of Esemplare with just less than three minutes left in the third overtime and got his body in front a pair of shots during the second overtime. This is probably the best game I've played in. Four overtimes, it doesn't get much better than that."

"When they were coming down the field I was thinking, "you have been playing like this all day, but you have to get one more. You have to block one more shot.

"Tommy's a gamer," Bulkley added. "Sitting behind Will Waesche last year benefited him and he made some huge saves today."

Mathias forced overtime when he scored with 2:04 left in regulation, knotting the score at 7-7. Scooping up a ground ball in traffic, Mathias sprinted down the field before converting a high shot from five yards out. Winne won the game's opening faceoff and the Tigers promptly scored, as Maher converted a shot from the perimeter 40 seconds into the first quarter.

The Cards responded with four consecutive goals with Paradise tallying the first one off a feed from Curran. Finneran gave GHS its first lead of the game at 2-1, scoring off a Curran pass, and John Tooher tallied after being set up nicely by Finneran, making it 3-1. Gaining possession after senior long stick midfielder Cole Perry intercepted a pass, the Cardinals cashed in, with Goggin scoring off a pass by Finneran from behind, putting the visitors on top, 4-1 with 3:38 to go in the opening quarter.

The Tigers cut the Cardinals' lead to 4-2 going into the second quarter on Bonaparte's goal and went into halftime trailing 5-4. Boehle and Ohrem scored for Ridgefield in the second quarter, while Curran tallied off a pass from Foote for the Cardinals. Goals were hard to come by for both teams during the second half and in overtime with the Tigers playing their traditionally tough zone defense and the Cards' defenders marking their men tightly.

"We used a great effort the whole game and carried it to the fourth overtime," Nail said. "When Decker scored it felt good knowing we beat Ridgefield on their home field, which is something I've never done before."

Said Colsey: "This was a great game for both teams. I'm proud of our guys for not quitting. In a game like this, you're just one big shot away from walking away happy."